The Biggest Winners and Losers at Comic-Con 2012

Having featured previews of many of the year’s (and next year’s) most anticipated films, hosted some of our favorite Hollywood stars, and enticed crushing, costumed crowds to the San Diego Convention Center and its environs, 2012 Comic-Con is finally over. [Sigh.] Below, we look back on who fared the best and the worst during the fanboy convention’s four, action-figure-packed days.

Zombies, who were represented en masse and celebrated with an organized Gaslamp District walk on Friday, invited to a Petco Park “Escape” event, and featured as entertainment during a party in honor of The Walking Dead.

Batman! Even though The Dark Knight Riseswas not represented by Warner Bros. this year, the superhero was well represented with tens of civilian Batmans (even “retired Batman,” who rested on a lounge chair outside Hall H); fully leather-suited Catwomen; a smattering of past Batman foes, including the Penguin, the Joker, and Poison Ivy; on-site Batmobiles; and plenty of Batman ephemera on the convention-center floor.

Pedicab drivers, who charged up to $10 per person.

Masquerade-ball winners, who received a free ticket to next year’s Con, and one Big Bang Theory fan who was presented with a free space flight.

“Slave” Princess Leias, or the Julia Robertses of Comic-Con’s convention-center floor. Also trending this year, in apparent direct correlation with the increasing skimpiness of the slave-Princess-Leia costumes, the number of portly men with cameras yelling, “Leia! Look here!” when they heard the swish of a waist-length braided ponytail.

Losers:

Anyone morally disturbed by the above sight.

The hundreds of fans who did not make it into panel-and-preview events, even after waiting for hours in the heat while nearby religious protestors shouted at them through bullhorns.

Attendees who paid $45 to $50 (actual prices!) for “event parking” so they could stand in a line to nowhere, or anyone who paid $18 for a hamburger ordered off a special-edition Comic-Con menu at surrounding restaurants.

Internet service, which crawled for the masses of fans inside Hall H and for the press at the nearby Hilton Bayfront Hotel.

Autograph seekers in pursuit of James Franco, Bruce Willis, and Leonardo DiCaprio, whose prior filming obligations kept them from making the pilgrimage to San Diego to promote Oz: The Great and Powerful, Looper, and Django Unchained, respectively.

The new no-stroller policy, which over the course of the festival was ignored with increasing frequency until Sunday’s stroller-free-for-all in the convention center. Despite our initial skepticism, the strollers appeared to keep many pint-sized superheroes drinking juice boxes pretty comfortable, even as costumed villains lurked nearby.